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ACTIVE TRUST * A trust regarding which the trustee has some active duty to perform; opposed to bare, naked, or passive trust.
ADMINISTRATION * The care and management of an estate by a trustee or a guardian; to be distinguished from the settlement of an estate by an executor or an administrator.
ADMINISTRATOR * An individual or a trust institution appointed by a court to settle the estate of a person who has died without leaving a valid Will. If the individual appointed is a woman, she is known as an administratrix.
AD VALOREM TAXES * Taxes assessed according to the value of the property.
ADVERSE POSSESSION * An occupation of of land inconsistent with the right of the true owner.
AFFIDAVIT * A document, sworn to and signed before a notary or other court officer, containing a specific statement.
AFTER-BORN CHILD * A child born after the execution of the parent's Will; to be distinguished from posthumous child.
AGENT * A person who acts for another person by the latter's authority. The distinguishing characteristics of an agent are (1) that he acts on behalf and subject to the control of his principal, (2) that he does not have title to the property of his principal, and (3) that he owes the duty of obedience to his principal's orders.
ALLOCATION * The crediting of a receipt in its entirety or the charging of a disbursement in its entirety to one account, as to the principal account or to the income account to be distinguished from apportionment.
AMORTIZATION * As a tax concept, the recovery of the cost or other basis of an intangible asset over its estimated useful life in a manner similar to straight-line depreciation. Such intangible assets are sometimes referred to as "wasting assets." With respect to bonds purchased at a premium, the process by which a part of the income is set aside as received to reduce gradually the amount by which the cost of the bond exceeds its face value.
ANCESTOR * (1) One from whom a person is descended, whether through father or mother. (2) Law * One from whom an estate has descended. (3) Common Law * Applies only to a person in line of ascent.
ANNUAL EXCLUSION...